


The Land and the Sea

by kurokoyesbasket, rightofpostponement



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Air Acolyte Daichi, Airbender Suga, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Angst, Avatar Oikawa, Earthbending Hanamaki, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mutual Pining, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Waterbender Iwaizumi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-08-31 11:01:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8575789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurokoyesbasket/pseuds/kurokoyesbasket, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rightofpostponement/pseuds/rightofpostponement
Summary: Oikawa Tooru knew that he was a big deal. He was the Avatar, the "savior of the world," "peacekeeper of the nations," and other titles that Oikawa secretly thought were equally as ridiculous. He thought of himself less as a dominating force and more as a charismatic, beautiful (and a bit lonely) young man with a handful of insecurity issues. He masters all four elements by the 18th year of his life until something within him breaks, causing his training to cease and his world to change completely.And then he meets a certain stoic waterbender.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> ***IMPORTANT PLEASE READ***  
> Even if you've already seen Avatar the Last Airbender or Legend of Korra, please read the prologue! I changed a little bit from the storyline of the original series to fit the plot of my fic in the future. Thanks for reading!
> 
>  
> 
> Okay first of, major thanks to my favorite person ever and lovely editor rightofpostponment for making sure I don't look dumb with stupid typos! This is my first actual fanfic, since my previous one was basically just a smutfest. For a heads up, I'm a current university student and I have a ton going on like all the time, so updates will not always be frequent, but will happen eventually so stick with me! Thanks to everyone for reading, hope you all enjoy!

The four elements: air that surrounds, water that floods, earth that provides, and fire that burns. Strange though it may seem, in each generation a select few are born with one of the four elements flowing in their souls, giving them the ability to manipulate an element, transforming their physical bodies into vessels for either air, water, earth, or fire. These people with strange, seemingly supernatural abilities are called benders; they are special humans blessed by the spirits of water, air, earth or fire. Each bender is born possessing the ability to control a single element by use of psychokinetic martial arts, allowing them to pour all of their focus into training both their minds and bodies in order to one day become masters of their element. 

 

Benders are different from the rest of humanity; powerful, spiritual, and sometimes frightening in their intensity. There is, however, one bender more potent, more divine, and more incredible than any other: The Avatar. This chosen individual has the ability to control every element, giving them the tremendous responsibility of not only maintaining balance in the world, but keeping peace between every nation as well. There is only one Avatar every generation, and when they die they are reincarnated as the spirit of the Avatar, Raava, implants itself within the new avatar’s soul, keeping the cycle of the Avatar’s death and rebirth unbroken. 

 

The world in which the Avatar and other benders exist is divided, separated into different kingdoms based on a single element. The Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nomads and the Water Tribes form the known world. 

 

Many years ago, the Fire Nation attacked the other kingdoms in an attempt to spread their culture, which they saw as superior. By wiping out the Air Nomads in a systematic genocide, the power hungry leader of the Fire Nation Fire Lord Ozai sought to create a world in which he would be the ultimate authority. However, the Avatar of the time, a young airbender named Aang, defeated the Fire Lord Ozai and removed his bending, restoring the world to balance and unifying the fractured nations once more. After Aang’s death, the spirit Raava found it way to a new Avatar, a feisty waterbender named Korra. 

 

Korra faced many hardships, all which left the Raava within her damaged. When fighting the dark Avatar spirit Vaatu, a piece of the malicious spirit attached itself to the Raava in Korra’s soul, causing it to become weakened. After a long battle, Korra triumphed over Vaatu and his evil desires. Unfortunately, her struggles weren’t over. A communist rebel named Zaheer and his followers captured Korra and introduced a lethal poison into her body in attempts to destroy her Avatar powers, and stop the reincarnation of Raava from Avatar to Avatar. While Zaheer’s plan did not succeed, the poison Korra ingested severely damaged Raava, further draining it's already weakened power. Although Korra received assistance in the removal of the poison from the great metalbender Toph, traces of the poison still remained within Raava, and in Korra, until her death. 

 

When the new Avatar was reborn, he received an unclean and damaged spirit, one that was still plagued by pieces of the evil spirit Vaatu and dripping with lethal poison.


	2. Possession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is coming along nicely, will hopefully have it up soon! Thanks for reading!

Avatar Oikawa Tooru was a stark contrast to Avatar Korra. He knew it, his family knew it, and he suspected even his best friend secretly knew. Granted, his best friend was a massive 10 foot tall Badger Mole named Lee, so maybe his opinion wasn’t all too relevant. Tooru used to hear his elders speak of Korra’s “unyielding tenacity,” and her “fierce desire to triumph,” and how she demanded respect with her fiery personality and powerful, kickass bending. He didn't think he was any of those things. He supposed he had a fierce desire to triumph over others, but who didn’t?

 

Growing up hearing his elder’s gushing description of the Avatar and her very stereotypical Avatary characteristics led him to believe that to be a strong avatar, one had to be this demanding, fearsome being who stomped on opposers and shook the world with power. He wasn’t a big fan of earth trembling, as Lee always got scared and Tooru had to spend the next hour trying to calm him down with belly rubs and sweets. But nevertheless, sometimes he tried to channel all his past lives, and picture what they would do. When bending with earth he pictured crushing a challenger with one his boulders. With air, he imagined a catastrophic tornado ripping apart buildings and maybe even sweeping away an unsuspecting platypus bear. These destructive thoughts remained consistent when he worked his other two elements, fire and water. However, no matter how much praise he received from his masters on his bending, he always felt that something was missing; he claimed to “feel” the elements in his veins, but he knew subconsciously that authentic bending relied on both the soul and the body. He was secretly scared that he would would never feel his bending on any level other than purely physical. 

 

Tooru continued to train with his masters -and his slowly darkening thoughts- until he turned 18, when something inside him broke.  
________________________________________________________________________

 

“Lee, cut it out!” Tooru let out a sunny giggle as his Badger Mole, lovingly named Lee by a 4 year old Tooru, sniffed his face and gave him an affectionate lick on the cheek. Tooru’s first element was earth, so he had a strong connection with many Badger Moles, the original earthbenders.

 

“Oikawa, we’re supposed to be practicing, jackass. I told you I’d help you spar but I’m not going to if you just goof off with Lee. If old man Ukai sees you messing around he’s gonna yell at me.” Hanamaki scowled at the thought of Master Ukai shouting at him for Oikawa’s failures yet again. Hanamaki was a loud, somewhat lazy kid who Oikawa had befriended years ago due to a lack of other kids their age in their small village. The two begrudgingly became friends after Oikawa was complaining about being the Avatar and Hanamaki got sick of listening to his whining and punched him in the nose. They’d been inseparable ever since. Hanamaki was an earthbender, and a surprisingly good one at that. The boy was inherently lazy, never pouring more than half of his efforts into anything. Except earthbending. He always told Tooru that there was no way in hell he’d let a pretty boy like Oikawa beat him. Secretly, Tooru was jealous of Makki and his bending, he always seemed so connected to the earth, using both his mind and body to manipulate his element. Oikawa wanted that, but he’d be damned before Hanamaki knew it.  


“Oh come on Makki! Live a little. You’re as lame as this rock.” Tooru joked, ducking just in time to keep his head attached to his shoulders as Hanamaki flung a sizable boulder at his head in order to discourage further unfortunate use of bad puns.  


“I’ll take that as a complement,” Hanamaki deadpanned. Tooru smirked at his friend’s serious face.  


“Okay okay, we can spar now. But only because we’re best friends and I love you.” Tooru said affectionately. He beamed at Hanamaki with a wide smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Hanamaki sighed, knowing that it was one of Tooru’s bad days from that forced grimace. Tooru crossed the field they were in and turned to face his opponent.  


“Just earth okay? I can’t fight you if you’re throwing fireballs and shit at me.” Hanamaki stated.  


“Can’t handle my awesome Avatar power?” Tooru sang, twirling his fingers in his hair, a nervous habit he never quite outgrew.  


“Nobody can handle you.” With that, Hanamaki stomped his foot on the ground and sent a large chunk of rock flying through the air. Tooru erected a wall of stone around his body to block Hanamaki’s attack, causing rock shards to ricochet everywhere. Makki calmy blocked each jagged bullet with grace before manipulating the earth to surround his arms, making him look like he had tentacles of hard stone. He whipped at Tooru with his arms, looking for an opening in his friend’s defense, to which he had no avail. Tooru saw a flaw in Hanamaki’s offense and went in for an attack, charging at Hanamaki on a surf of rock. He knew that getting within a close range of Makki would secure victory, as Makki hated hand-to-hand combat. The boy preferred to analyze his options for a strike and then attack strategically from afar. Hanamaki saw Tooru’s attempts for a close range battle and quickly shoved the rock his friend was surfing on backwards, evading Tooru’s grasp. Hanamaki flung both his arms down, creating a huge divide in the ground in an effort to trap Tooru in the ditch. Unfortunately for him, his bending wasn’t quick enough as the Avatar nimbly jumped upwards and suspended himself in midair on a bubble of air. 

 

“You fucking cheater,” Hanamaki bellowed, halfheartedly throwing rocks up at a levitating Oikawa, much to his amusement. 

 

“This isn’t cheating, I’m just using my natural abilities,” Tooru laughed, closing his eyes and enjoying the breeze on his face and the wind whipping his hair. With a final grunt, Hanamaki sent one last gravelly spear halfheartedly at Tooru, who decided to leisurely spin around on his scooter, putting his back to his opponent. 

 

One minute Tooru was in the sky, feeling free for the first time in what felt like months, and the next he felt the sharp point of a rock dig into a pressure point in his back.

 

He felt the colors black and red flood his veins. 

 

He felt the fuzziness that clouded his vision.

 

He felt something in him snap.

 

A cold voice slithered into his mind, “destroy, conquer, annihilate,” it whispered. “Merciless, that’s what an avatar is.” Tooru felt himself pull away from the rock, but he didn’t remember telling his body to move. He felt like something had pierced through his chest and had an unshakeable grip on his heart. He felt the grip shift to capture his brain. He felt squeezed, controlled, the only thing he could focus on was what the voice was telling him to do.

 

The voice was telling him to shred. To rip. To murder.

 

Tooru rose and unwillingly turned to Hanamaki.

 

“Oikawa, what’s wrong? Why are you all hunched over like that? I didn’t mean to hit you man, if you hadn’t turned around on your stupid air bubble this wouldn’t have happened,” Hanamaki said, trying to keep the edge of hysteria out of his voice as Tooru finally opened his eyes, glassy and unseeing. Hanamaki breathed out a sigh of relief before Oikawa charged at him with the power of all four elements. 

 

Rocks slammed into Hanamkai’s ribs; he felt the heat of fire singe his clothes and cool air whip his hair around his face. Hanamaki screamed out for Master Ukai, praying that the experienced earthbender would appear magically to help, because Oikawa had clearly gone off the rails. His prayers were answered moments later when he saw Master Ukai run into the field they had been dueling in. Knowing that something wasn’t right with Tooru, Ukai attacked the boy, capturing him in a rocky prison. Tooru shook angrily, crying out in a voice that was not his own, shrieking something about chaos and destruction. Slowly, he stopped seizing and slumped down into the stone that surrounded him.

 

“Hanamaki, what happened here? Why was Oikawa acting that way? What was that voice?” questioned Ukai, not trying to hide his panic.

 

“I-I don’t know,” Hanamaki said, cursing internally that he was stuttering. “We were just sparring and then I shot a rock at him and-and he just... Attacked me. I don’t know why.” 

 

“We’ll talk to him when he awakens. For now we need to get you and Oikawa to a healer,” Ukai said, observing the blood dripping on Hanamaki’s face, along with the yellow and green bruises that were already flowering beneath the boy’s pale skin.

 

“Ukai, I-I, I thought I was going to die. I thought he was going to kill me,” Hanamaki mumbled, kicking up dust with his foot.

 

“We’ll get to the bottom of this. There has to be an explanation,” Ukai whispered softly, seemingly to himself.  
__________________________________________________________________________

 

Tooru didn’t know what he was doing. He saw only in black, red and purple, the world shifting around him to conform to his dark vision. The voice in his head spat instructions, “This is what an Avatar does, right? The Avatar does not show mercy, the Avatar is unstoppable. Show the weak boy that he is nothing.” The invisible hands in his body moved his muscles, forcing him to bend and attack. Tooru thought he heard the screaming and pleading of a familiar voice, but the malicious whispers in his brain drowned any sense of the other voice. He kept slashing and fighting until he felt his body become trapped in something. The voice inside him crescendoed in a scream, “END THEM, YOU ARE THE AVATAR, OPPRESSORS MUST BE ENDED.” His mouth opened and he felt himself scream uncontrollably. Slowly, he became more and more tired, the dark reds and purples in his vision fading into subdued blues and whites, and the soft voice of an unknown woman in his head, “rest now Avatar.”

 

The white light faded and Tooru’s muscles went limp.


	3. The Northern Air Temple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay lil bit of Daisuga fluff/smut at the end in this one! Also it is dreaded finals week so next update won't be till after I finish all my tests. Happy reading! :)

“What’s wrong with him, doctor?”

“Why is the Avatar acting so strange?”

“Hey assholes, get out of here! I’m trying to support my friend and shit. Get out.”

Oikawa recognized the last voice as Hanamaki’s, the only familiar sound in the room. He wanted to thank his friend for standing up for him (although he didn’t know why he needed to be stood up for), but he couldn’t concentrate on that thought for long as a sharp pain ripped through his skull. He felt drained of energy and his mouth tasted like blood. He heard the sound of footsteps leaving the room and he assumed that Hanamaki was the only one left with him.

“Makki-chan, what’s going on?” Oikawa groaned, barely managing to sit up because of his weakened muscles. He blinked his eyes open and gasped when he saw his friend. Hanamaki’s face was littered with bruises, ranging in size and color. At his chin and his eyebrow Oikawa noticed little black stitches pulling the skin together.

“If you think I look bad, you should see your ugly mug,” Hanamaki smirked before wincing when his smile tugged on the fragile stitches on his chin. “And stop calling me Makki-chan.”

What Hanamaki said was a perfectly Makki-chan-like thing to say, but Oikawa sensed something was off in his voice. Was that fear laced in his tone? Uncertainty? Oikawa couldn’t tell.

“Makki-chan, what’s wrong? Why do you sound so funny? Are you still not over that my hair will always be superior to yours?” Oikawa joked, tossing out a phony smile and a wink. He became alarmed when Hanamaki didn’t punch him or call him a jackass, only sat in the chair next to Tooru’s bed with his hands clasped together in his lap solemnly.

“You mean… You mean you don’t remember it?” whispered Hanamaki. Oikawa paused for a moment when he heard the uncertainty in Hanamaki’s voice; the fear barely suppressed.

Oikawa remembered the cold hands gripping him and the malicious voice murmuring, and the familiar screams of someone he knew. Oikawa froze. _He_ did that to Hanamaki. _He_ sliced his friends face open. _He_ bruised him and _he_ was the reason for the panic in Hanamaki’s voice.

“Makki… That was me wasn’t it?” Oikawa croaked. Hanamaki didn’t say anything, just nodded his head, looking at Oikawa with sad eyes. It was a look of pity, and Oikawa hated being looked at in that way. Still, he couldn’t push himself to be angry at Hanamaki, especially since Oikawa was the root of his friend’s injuries.

“Makki I’m...I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what was happening! I mean one moment I was in the air and then the next thing I knew I was being controlled... It was like… It was like someone was reaching into my body. No, it felt like something was already in my body and was controlling me from there I-I… I didn’t want to hurt you I’m so sorry.” Oikawa’s voice softened as he apologized, reaching his hand up to twirl strands of his hair and directing his gaze at Hanamaki.

Their eyes caught each others and Hanamaki could see the intense self-loathing in his best friend’s eyes. He knew that he needed to be strong, to get up and brush himself off because he knew that Tooru wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if Hanamaki continued to be afraid of him. Oikawa couldn’t know that he almost killed his best friend. Makki mustered up his best I-don’t-care-if-you-attacked-me-I-still-love-you look, rose and took a single stride to engulf his oldest friend in a rare embrace.

“Hey dumbass, I forgive you, just don’t do it again, okay?” Hanamaki murmured into Oikawa’s neck, sensing that the boy was still surprised that the normally emotionless Makki was actually giving him a hug. Oikawa embraced his friend back and promised that he wouldn’t let anything control him again. Oikawa subconsciously knew that it wasn’t a promise he could keep, since he still didn’t understand what had possessed him or why it possessed him. Oikawa forcefully turned his thoughts off and turned to Hanamaki. 

“Makki-chan, you give surprisingly good hugs, especially for someone with the emotional capacity of a robot,” Tooru grinned at his friend and patted him on the head. Hanamaki slapped his hand away and gave Tooru a soft punch on the arm. Oikawa was happy at how normal everything felt, considering how he had accidentally assaulted his friend a few hours ago.

The two boys turned to the hallway leading into the room when they heard the door open and close. Master Ukai walked in, wearing a grim expression. His already deep wrinkles seeming to be even more profound in the dim lighting of the hospital.

“Avatar Tooru, how are you?” he asked gruffly, strolling over to stand next to Oikawa and Hanamaki, who was still perched on the side of Oikawa’s bed. “Hanamaki, I’d like to have a moment with the Avatar, could you step out for a moment?” he asked. Hanamaki nodded and squeezed Oikawa’s shoulder briefly before heading out the door and into the waiting room.

“Old man- uh, Master Ukai, what can I assist you with?” Oikawa said with a megawatt smile that failed to reach his eyes.

“Avatar Tooru, now is not the time for games. Something serious has happened to you. You attacked one of my students and your best friend, which I know is something you would never do unless something was influencing you. Give me every detail of what occurred back in the sparring field.” Ukai said firmly yet kindly. Oikawa launched into the story of how he and Hanamaki were sparring before Oikawa had been hit in the back and then overtaken by some mysterious being. Ukai soaked in all of the information for a bit, and then spoke. 

“Avatar, did you feel that there was something reaching within you to control you?” Oikawa shook his head. “Then I doubt you were a victim of a bloodbender. There have been special cases where waterbenders have become powerful enough to bloodbend without the full moon. This makes the situation even more difficult to understand. Perhaps you have some sort of spiritual unrest within you? Have you ever felt that perhaps your mind is somewhat detached from your body?” 

Oikawa gulped. Whenever he was bending, he always felt that way; he was a purely physical force when manipulating the elements. He wasn’t about to admit that to Ukai though, or even to himself. 

“I can’t say that that’s true Master Ukai, it has to be something else,” Oikawa said with a dry chuckle. Ukai glanced at him skeptically but didn’t say anything. “Anyway, I need to rest. Tomorrow I can continue with my training, thanks for stopping in!” 

“Avatar, I think it would be wise to visit one of the air gurus at the Northern Air Temple. They are very spiritually adept and would be more than happy to help you sort out this situation,” Ukai stopped for a second to think. “Actually, no; you need to see a spiritual guru. I know you’re too stubborn to seek help so I’m going to force you to help yourself.” Oikawa groaned and slumped back into his pillow.

“Ukai, honestly I’m fine, it was just a one time thing and besides, I’m not possessed or anything right now, am I? I mean I’d love to see Master Jinora again, but I think I can figure this out on my own. You’re overreacting to this whole thing.” 

“Pack your things Avatar, we visit the Northern Air Temple Island tomorrow.” With that, Ukai turned and exited the sickly sterile hospital room, leaving Oikawa alone with his thoughts. 

__________________________________________________________________________

“Bye Makki-chan, try not to mourn my absence too much!” Tooru shouted as he made his way onto the airship Ukai had prepared for their trip to the Northern Air Temple. Hanamaki’s expression stayed motionless as he lifted his middle finger, silently telling Tooru to fuck off. Tooru smiled and put his hands together to form a heart, and then waved enthusiastically as the airship lifted off the ground. He made his way to his seat and plopped down, putting his head against the window and shutting his eyes. He thought about how little Oikawa would’ve loved to be in an airship, ascending closer and closer to the sky, where the extraterrestrial lived. Secretly, Oikawa still enjoyed reading about aliens, but he made sure that Lee was the only one who knew about his childish habit.

Despite his calm exterior, Oikawa was nervous. Nervous that whatever possessed him was still inside him, or worse, was actually a part of him. Oikawa figured there was no reason to stress out before he knew the roots of his problems, but he couldn’t help it. He remembered when the earthbending elders first told him he was the Avatar; he was feeling similar to the now. Fear of the unknown, doubt that he could succeed, worry that he would mess it up swirled in his brain. He let out a deep sigh and snuggled in closer to the cold window. How romantic, he thought before giving into the temptation to sleep.

Hours later, the airship landed at the temple. Oikawa looked out the window he’d been cuddling with to see dozens of airbenders and air acolytes awaiting his arrival and helping the ship land. He briefly scanned over them before laying eyes on the buildings that made up the Northern Air Temple. Blue shingles and gold detailing topped twisted turrets made of pale bricks that snaked up from the ground; he saw air bison circle through the buildings, coming to check on the new creature (the airship) that had entered their domain. He was thinking how quaint everything looked when he heard Ukai shouting at him from the exit to hurry up.

“Ahhh Master Ukai, let’s be patient yeah? The Avatar needs his time.” Oikawa said with a shit-eating grin.

Ukai fired right back at him with smirk, “Young Avatar, with all due respect, shut up.” Oikawa chuckled, grabbed his things, and made his way out of the airship. He sauntered down the walkway that connected the exit to the ground, making sure to wave and give his most Avatary smile. He saw a cute boy and tossed him a wink and a hair flip, causing the boy to blush and turn his eyes to the ground with a small smile. When all else failed, Oikawa still had his pretty face and undeniable charisma.

“Avatar Tooru, it’s lovely to see you again,” a familiar voice spoke out over the crowd. Oikawa turned to see his airbending teacher, Master Jinora. She was the granddaughter of Avatar Aang, the legendary boy who defeated the Fire Nation’s war when he was only 12 years old. She had followed in his footsteps, mastering even the most advanced airbending at a young age. Oikawa looked up to her immensely; she was graceful yet powerful, loving yet firm; under her tutelage he grew to love the air and the freedom it stood for. 

“Master Jinora! You look lovely as usual,” Oikawa praised, giving the elder woman a firm hug. Her hair was greying, but her bright blue tattoos still stood vibrantly on her forehead and hands, a sign that she was a true airbending master. 

“Hey Avatar, that’s my wife you’re grabbing, get out of here!” Kai, Jinora’s husband scolded playfully, grabbing Jinora’s hand from behind. He too had a blue arrow on his forehead, contrasting with his tanned skin.

“Kai, good to see you old friend.” Oikawa said, holding out a hand for Kai to shake, which was ignored when the man pulled him in for a hug.

“Tooru, let’s go into the main temple, I sense that you’re struggling with something, and I know the perfect person who can help you.” Jinora explained, grabbing Oikawa’s hand and leading him away from the crowd. When they left the crowd Jinora turned to look at at Tooru with a concerned expression.

“Love, your spirit is in intense turmoil, even more so than before. What’s happened?” she asked.

“It’s… complicated. Can I explain once we get to the temple?” Oikawa mumbled, avoiding eye contact. Jinora patted him on the shoulder in a motherly way and nodded.

When the two reached the temple, a man was waiting for them at the steps. Oikawa was taken aback by his ethereal beauty. He was dainty, but Oikawa knew looks were deceptive. Oikawa could tell he was a powerful bender from the blue tattoo on his forehead, which was slightly obscured by ash blonde hair. A beauty mark sat under one kind looking eye, crinkled up in a smile.

“Avatar Tooru, it’s an honor to meet you.” The man bowed slightly. “My name is Sugawara Koushi, but everyone just calls me Suga. I’ll be helping you on your spiritual journey today.” Oikawa was stunned at how calm he felt when listening to Suga speak; he was like waterbending on a warm day, cleansing and refreshing. 

Another man exited the temple and walked up to their group. He was more muscular than Suga, with a strong jaw and warm brown eyes. 

“Suga, everything’s set up for the Avatar, so you guys are good to go.” The man glanced at Oikawa and gave him a deep bow. “Nice to meet you Avatar, I’m Sawamura Daichi.” When he straightened, Suga grabbed the man’s hand and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. Oikawa looked down to see rings glinting on both their fourth fingers and smiled, thinking they looked beautiful together. 

“Thanks so much babe, I’ll come find you when we’re finished.” Suga said sweetly, staring at his husband’s face adoringly.

“I’ll be counting down the seconds.” Daichi answered with a grin. The two separated and Jinora gently led Oikawa to the temple doors, Suga following in their wake. 

“So Suga, I don’t want to be rude, but how are you going to help me? I mean, Jinora has been a master for decades, what can you do that she can’t?” Oikawa questioned.

“Jinora is far more experienced than I am,” Suga said, giving Jinora’s shoulder a quick squeeze, “She’s a talent martial artist, and I’m not much of a fighter. I focus solely on the spirit and how to maintain it. I can bend my spirit through my voice and see which chakras in the body are blocked and how to fix them. I can already sense an unrest within your body; something is muffling your spirit.” 

“Thanks Refreshing-kun, but I’ve felt fine since the incident,” Oikawa lied smoothly.

“Speaking of which, please explain to us what happened,” Jinora said. Oikawa retold the story for what seemed like the hundredth time, glossing over details and simply stating the main points. 

“Interesting. You weren’t being bloodbent?” Suga asked. Oikawa shook his head and twirled his hair nervously. A moment later they arrived at a door, which opened to a large, airy room covered in red pillows.

“This is where I do all my spirit bending. The sun helps me detach my spirit,” Suga said, noticing Oikawa was eyeing the herbs hanging from the ceiling. “The herbs don’t really do anything, I just like how they smell. I suppose you could say they help me detach my spirit as well. Now, take a seat.”

Oikawa lowered himself onto a plush red pillow, and Suga seated himself across from him. Jinora stood at the edge of the room, not wanting to distract Suga. 

“Now you need to sit and meditate, just like Jinora taught you. I’m going to keep talking throughout the process, but you’ll feel when my spirit comes in contact with you. Don’t fight me though, I’m only trying to help,” Suga said reassuringly. “And don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt, I’ve been told it actually feels quite good.” Oikawa took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles. He desperately wanted to fight Suga’s spirit, but he knew Jinora would give him the “disappointed mom” look, which he couldn’t deal with. So he closed his eyes and shut off his brain, dissociating himself from the world around him. He could vaguely hear Suga murmuring, and then he felt a prickling sensation surround him. It felt like a gentle aloe was spreading itself over his body, cooling his skin yet at the same time making him feel warm. He was enjoying the feeling of Suga’s spirit when he experienced a sharp pain in the middle of his back. 

_Shit_ , he thought as unfamiliar, icy hands snaked through his body. He felt them squeeze his brain, heard the voice telling him to _rip,_ to _murder_. Oikawa felt his muscles try to move, but he was trapped; he could feel the voice inside of him grow angry as Oikawa continued to stay motionless. He could feel himself shaking, could feel his muscles contracting and loosening at the voice’s command, but he wasn’t moving. The voice began to scream inside his mind, imprinting the backs of his eyes with red and black. Suddenly the horrible light changed to a white and baby blue. The shrill, piercing voice faded to a woman’s hushed tone, telling him to relax. Oikawa slumped into a body, feeling the person’s warmth rush over his tired form. He opened his eyes.

Suga was holding Oikawa in his lap, peering down at him with weary eyes; Jinora hovered nearby, looking concerned. “It happened again, didn’t it?” Oikawa whispered. “Did I hurt anyone?”

“No,” replied Suga, “Jinora and I contained you, but you were screaming at us . . . saying how badly you wanted to kill us.” Oikawa shut his eyes, trying not to show how deeply that disturbed him. 

“Suga, did you figure anything out from this?” questioned Jinora.

“Actually, yes. When I first projected my spirit into you I felt a deep unrest, so I searched your chakras to find which one was causing all of the problems. When I hit the middle of your back, I felt an incredible evil clawing at me. When I hit that spot, you started seizing and screaming, and Jinora and I had to detain you. I felt something clinging to Raava, the spirit that gives you your avatar powers. She is being weakened by something, but I couldn’t figure out what.” Oikawa took a deep breath, his thoughts racing. What was wrong with Raava? Why was she weak? He still didn’t know what was possessing him, either. And why was the middle of his back the trigger point for his attack? 

“Tooru, let’s get you somewhere to rest, you’ve had a trying experience and it’s best if you try to get some sleep.” Jinora directed. The sun was sitting lower in the sky than before, so Tooru had no issues with Jinora’s request.

“I think that’d help,” Oikawa said quietly. Suga grabbed him around the waist and pulled him up, Jinora went on the opposite side of Suga and together they helped Oikawa out of the spirit room. 

__________________________________________________________________________

Later, Suga spoke to his husband about the day’s trials. He stood in front of the mirror in their bedroom, wearing one of Daichi’s big shirts and brushing his teeth.

“I’m really worried about the Avatar. There’s this deep unrest in his soul; it’s pure evil, but I can’t put my finger on what it is. I need to think of a way to help him or we could all have issues in the future,” Suga ranted, spitting out a mouth full of toothpaste. Daichi came up behind his spouse and wrapped his arms around his waist, slipping his hands under Suga’s oversized shirt. Suga shuddered at the contact, still not used to Daichi’s gentle touch even after years of marriage.

“I love how caring you are. You just met this kid and you’re so determined to help him. Amazing.” Daichi said affectionately, burying his face into the side of Suga’s neck. Suga smiled when he felt Daichi’s lips graze his neck, leaving warm kisses under his jaw. 

Suga turned to face Daichi and captured his lips with his own, loving his taste. Suga was so weak for this man, so captivated by his presence that it almost scared him. He knew that Daichi felt the same way about him, which only made him crazier about the beautiful man he was lucky enough to call his husband. His thoughts faded when he felt Daichi grip under his thighs and lift him onto the counter. 

Suga giggled in surprise, but was soon cut off by Daichi’s lips, soft and warm, over his own. Daichi stepped between his spouse’s legs, running hot fingers up and down Suga’s thighs. Suga moaned at the sensation, enjoying each rake of blunt fingernails over his sensitive skin. He carefully removed Daichi’s shirt, longing to feel his husband’s soft skin under his own hands. He caressed his hands over Daichi’s hard muscles and then lowered his hand to grasp his husband’s growing erection through his underwear. Daichi let out a soft whimper as Suga slipped his hand under Daichi’s waistband to stroke his erection. Suga lived for Diachi’s soft moans, for his quickened breath, for his soft incantations of _Suga, Suga, Suga_. Suga increased his pace, feeling precum spill over Daichi’s soft pink head, loving the effect he had over his spouse. He felt Daichi begin to jerk under his touch; he teased the man a bit, slowing down his pace until Daichi let out a sexy growl, making Suga moan in return and quicken the strokes again. Suga captured Daichi’s lips in his own and continued to pump his erection.

“Suga, fuck, Suga I love you, shit I’m about to cum,” whined Daichi, jerking his hips into Suga’s hand. With a final tug, Daichi came undone under his husband's hand, moaning Suga’s name as they kissed. Daichi returned the favor, turning Suga into a mess of soft groans and thrusting hips. When they were finished Daichi changed his clothes and gave Suga another one of his shirts. He quickly captured his spouse in a warm embrace as he slipped the tee shirt over Suga’s head, giving him a quick peck on the nose.

The two climbed into their bed, Daichi snuggling his head into Suga’s chest and grabbing him around the waist. Suga wrapped his arms around Daichi and the two fell asleep together as normal, hearts beating as one.


	4. Swamp Visions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is literally the same chapter I uploaded the other day, I'm just a dumbass and accidentally deleted it when I was deleting some extra drafts. sorry about that! Thanks for reading :)

“What should we do, Kai?” Jinora sighed, running her aged hands through her hair. Tooru was like a son to her; she had met him when he an excited 10 year old eager to learn airbending. She had watched him grow, watched him struggle and persevere through seemingly insurmountable challenges. She knew the boy was determined to succeed on his own, to prove himself worthy of being the avatar; it worried her, that stubborn pride of his. She knew Oikawa would push himself past his limit in order to figure out the problem that plagued him.

“Take a deep breath love, we will figure this out,” said Kai, pulling Jinora away from her thoughts by placing a warm hand on her shoulder.

“I know it’s just.. I hate to see him in pain. I think of him as my own,” Jinora stressed while bringing her hands up to rub her tired eyes, a result of sleepless nights.

At that time, the two heard a soft knock on the door and watched as Suga glided into the room. He didn’t need to ask Jinora how she was doing to see that she was troubled; he could feel the turmoil in her spirit from down the hall. 

“Suga, darling, have you thought of anything? I’m completely desperate. Ukai wants me to figure something out in order to help Avatar Tooru, out but I have no ideas. I feel so helpless,” Jinora whispered into her hands, her voice barely audible through the clasped white knuckles over her mouth.

“Jinora, it’s okay to worry about him. I’m anxious, too. But we need to keep a level head,” Suga implored.

“You’re right. I know we can figure this out as a team,”Jinora chuckled dryly, clasping her husband’s hand in hers. Kai smiled at her, still in awe of her confidence and determination even after decades together. 

“So we know that Raava is damaged, and we know that the middle of his spine is the trigger point,” Suga informed, hoping that the facts would somehow spark an idea. “So we need something that can help his spirit regrow . . . Something that can cleanse it.”

“You can do that, can’t you Suga? With that whole voice-spirit thing?” Kai asked.

“Well, technically yes. But the malicious being that lies within Tooru’s spirit is too intense, there’s no way I could get all of it out. And even if I did, I wouldn’t have anywhere to contain that intense of an evil,” Suga grimaced, his soft features scrunching in displeasure. “We need someone more experienced, more powerful. Jinora do you think you could handle it?”

“No, I wasn’t even the one examining his soul and I could see how vicious that . . . thing was. I want to help him but I don’t think I can. The only thing powerful enough to cleanse a spirit that troubled is another spirit,” Jinora laughed humorlessly, the sound echoing off the honeywood floors of her and Kai’s kitchen. “He needs to feel connected to himself, to Raava and to his past avatar lives; his body is so detached from his mind and from this world. He needs a place where he can be in the center. Some sort of . . . spiritual hub.” 

_A spiritual hub… a place to be connected…_ Suga’s mind went into overdrive trying to conjure up a place or a person that could provide Tooru with the help he needed.

The idea came to him softly before exploding into something plausible. “What if . . . What if we sent him to the swamp?” Suga questioned.

“The swamp? What swamp?” Kai asked, his dark features twisting in confusion.

“Yes . . . Yes!” exclaimed Suga, “The swamp that Avatar Aang was called to years ago. It was there he saw the vision that led him to his earthbending master. I’ve read myths about, those who have visited it say the swamp feels alive, I’d bet there’s some sort of spirit living there, something that causes the visions.”

“Suga that’s it! My dad used to tell me stories about grandpa and his adventures, and I remember the one about the swamp. Dad said that grandpa felt an intense connection to everything around him, like the entire swamp were just one organism.” Jinora smiled, actually _smiled,_ looking at Suga with an expression of gratitude, admiring the determination to help that lied behind delicate features. 

“Would it be wise to send the Avatar by himself though? You both said how troubled the boy is. What if he self destructs?” Kai questioned.

“Tooru is far too stubborn to let that happen. He wants to be the best; he can end whatever turmoil rests within him, he just needs the proper location and a gentle push from us.” Jinora answered confidently, the pride she felt for the boy evident in her voice.

“Who’s going to tell him though?” Suga inquired, “I haven’t known him for very long, but he seems reluctant to accept that what’s happening within him is a major issue. I don’t think he’ll like that we’re sending him away to a swamp with the chance that it could help him.”

“I’ll do it.” Jinora declared, “He’s practically my own. I think I can convince him that this is for the best.”

“I know you can, love.” Stated Kai, pulling her hand up to his mouth to give the back of it a quick peck.

“Let’s do this then,” Suga proclaimed, opening the door and exiting the kitchen with Jinora and Kai behind him.

__________________________________________________________________________

“You want me to go where?!” Oikawa wailed with a dramatic flail of his arms. Jinora had entered his room at the temple a few moments ago before proceeding to drop a bomb on Tooru’s world. 

“To the swamp, love. Kai, Suga and I think it will help you become more connected to Raava and your past Avatar lives. It’s a very spiritual place; it will give you visions of things you need, it will help you see what your spirit needs. Ukai thinks it’s a good idea, too. As the Avatar, it’s your duty to bring balance to the world, and you can’t do that if you are unstable yourself.” Jinora lectured, doing her best to calm Oikawa down.

“Jinora, please, you can’t send my beautiful face to a dirty swamp! How long do I have to go? What if the world needs me? People think I’m a big deal!” he whined. In reality, Tooru wanted nothing more than to fix the whole problem and move on. He was willing to go to the swamp if it would help him, since he doubted he could solve the dilemma on his own. He felt the issue consume him; even when he wasn’t having an attack he felt the cold, looming presence of _something_ clinging to his mind and heart. He feared than on his own, the malevolent being inside of him would completely devour him, causing him to fail as Avatar. Oikawa Tooru, the worst Avatar ever, the Avatar that didn’t do anything, the Avatar that was so dominated by an unknown creature that it rendered him helpless; he could already see it in future history books.

Jinora looked at her beloved student and forced him to make eye contact with her as she grabbed both of his shoulders. She was almost surprised as to how broad they had become, the muscles strong from years of training. She remembered when he was nothing but a small, scrawny child eager to “do the awesome air stuff” because that’s where “the aliens” lived. She pulled away from her thoughts and scanned Oikawa’s eyes, searching for the real reason for his reluctance to go to the swamp. She sighed.

“Oh Tooru, if I didn’t think you could do this on your own, I wouldn’t send you away,” Jinora murmured gently, love laced in her tone. She saw Oikawa’s eyes grow, surprised that someone had figured out his fears so quickly. His dropped his gaze so his soft brown hair obscured his eyes.

“What if I fail?” He whispered, his voice tainted with doubt and panic so potent that it made Jinora’s heart hurt.

“You were chosen by Raava for a reason. You need to heal her, and I have no doubt you can do it. You are as intelligent as you are determined. You will get through this,” Jinora said, reaching up to cradle Oikawa’s face between her hands.

“You… You think I can do it?” Oikawa asked unsurely.

“I have no doubt. Have some faith in yourself, Avatar.” Jinora smiled softly, hoping her words would further soothe Oikawa’s racing mind. 

He straightened up, his expression receding into something hard, something unreadable. 

“When do I leave?” He asked, his tone rock hard.

“As soon as possible, possibly tomorrow.” Jinora answered, holding Tooru’s face between her aging hands, shocked at his sudden shift in attitude. Oikawa reached up and gently removed them from his face, turning to face the window behind him.

“I’ll started packing then.” He stated.

Jinora almost reached out to the boy; she wanted to comfort her student, to force him to see that he was a wonderful, amazing person who deserved so much more than what he was going through. She decided against it, giving Tooru a soft sound of affirmation as she exited his room.

__________________________________________________________________________

Kai, Jinora, and Suga stood outside of the airship the next day to say their goodbyes to a very nervous Tooru, whose deep undereye circles looked more like bruises than the result of a sleepless night.

“Tooru, you should take this, I think you need it more than me.” Jinora handed him her glider, a gift given to her by her own father when she had mastered air bending.

“Jinora… I can’t. That’s yours, not mine. Please.” Oikawa pleaded, unsuccessfully pushing the glider away.

“No, absolutely not! You’re taking this damn glider with you, I don’t care what you say.” she stated firmly. Tooru groaned, a genuine smile breaking across his face as he enveloped the smaller woman in his large frame.

“Thank you for everything.” He whispered to her. When they pulled away, Jinora’s eyes were misty.

“I’m so proud of you. The swamp will help you. Listen to its vision and to its calls, you can do this.” She said. 

Oikawa gave everyone a final hug and then marched into the airship, glider and satchel in hand. He took a deep breath and took a seat near the window, hoping the view would sooth his anxiousness. He felt the airship begin to ascend and watched as the three airbenders grew smaller and smaller. He reached into his bag and pulled out a book on astrology, hoping it would distract him from the doubt swirling in his mind.

Hours passed and Oikawa grew increasingly bored. After reading his only book twice, he resorted to staring out the window and imagining what it would be like he if he were a sky bison, free to fly wherever, whenever he wanted. Suddenly he felt the airship begin to lower, and a voice over the intercom.

“Avatar, we’re over the swamp but we can’t land. It’s too dense. We can get you close, but you’ll have to glide down to actually land,” announced an unknown voice. Oikawa yelled an affirmative, and grabbed his things and waited near the exit, glider in hand. He’d only used a glider a few times, and was kind of fuzzy on the technicals of landing. The ship continued to lower until the intercom voice gave him the go ahead; Oikawa opened Jinora’s glider jumped out of the plane.

It was amazing. Wind whipped his hair around his face, his stomach crawled up his throat and adrenaline pumped through his veins. He was in complete control of his body; he was the one manipulated the air; nothing was holding him down, or forcing their will upon his own. He let out a loud, joyful bellow and continued to glide over the treetops of the swamp, looking for a place to enter. He spotted a small opened, said a silent goodbye to the air, and then aimed himself through the vines and branches into the swamp.

His first impression of the swamp was green. The second was brown. The third was that Jinora had been right; there was something undeniably _living_ about the place, like each leaf, each vine, was observing him through green eyes. He looked around the area where he had landed. He was perched on a large tree root, raised out of the brown, swampy water that extended beyond his field of vision. There was no sky on the ground of the swamp, just rows and rows of vines clinging to sizeable tree branches. Oikawa felt a bit trapped without the sky to look up at, but he pushed down the feeling and thought about what he was there for. He needed to “reach a balance,” as Jinora had said, but he didn’t know how he was supposed to do that. He didn’t even know what was plaguing Raava, and in turn plaguing him. Oikawa took a deep breath and decided to start looking for a place to make some sort of home. If he was going to be living in the swamp for a while, there was no way in hell he was going to be sleeping in the mud.

He froze a bit of the mucky swamp water as a raft and waterbent himself down the river, searching for some sort of natural overhang that would serve as a roof. He cruised at a leisurely pace, stopping once to use his waterbending and earthbending to cleanse the dirty water so it was pure enough for him to drink. He continued on his mission when his eye caught sight of something different perched on a large root offshore.

A man. 

Oikawa squinted to catch a better glimpse of the person, moving his icy raft closer for a better view. Oikawa saw his bare back, strong and tanned. Some sort of leafy loincloth hung low on his hips, and his calves were enveloped by an olive binding. Green bands wrapped up his bulky forearms, stopping at the elbow where a single band of the same material stretched around his defined biceps. Dark hair stuck out from under his hat, which was shaped like a large leaf. 

Oikawa was immediately intrigued. 

“Hey! Hi! Could you help me? I’m looking for somewhere to stay? I’m uh… I’m a tourist, so if you could give me a hand that’d be great!” Oikawa called, turning on the charm. The man didn’t turned around. Oikawa shouted louder, still asking for the man’s help.

He docked his raft and climbed onto shore, making his way to the root that the stranger was standing on. He launched himself up using a blast of air, but when he reached the top, the man was gone. Oikawa turned in circles, searched for the other person when he saw the form slowly walking away.

“Hey, wait up! I’m talking to you!” called Oikawa, becoming increasingly impatient. To be honest, he wasn’t used to being ignored by other guys, even the straight ones. Much to his disdain, the man didn’t stop walking, and continued to make his way deeper into the swamp. Tooru ran to catch up, using blasts of air to propel himself forward. He burst through a wall of vines and came to a stunningly quaint open space. Soft moss covered the roots of trees and vines hung from branches above in an ethereal manner. Unfortunately, the man was nowhere to be seen, no trace of footsteps in the moss.

“I guess I found a place to stay,” Oikawa muttered to himself, still curious about the man. Tooru was intrigued by him not only because of his stunning features, but also because of his peculiar dress. He ran a hand through his hair and went back to the river to purify more water for a shower, trying to think of a reason as to why the man had completely ignored him.

He removed his shirt and doused his hair in the clean water he made before shaking the water out of his damp locks. He reached up to try to comb through the tangled mess on his head when his eyes focused in on a figure across the river.

The man.

Oikawa stood up silently and grabbed the stranger’s shoulder firmly. But what he grabbed wasn’t skin, it was a broken tree stump. The Avatar’s face shifted into one of confusion. The man had been right there. Was the thing in his soul messing with his eyesight now, too? He almost started panicking until he remembered what Jinora had said about the swamp. _It will connect you with the world,_ she said, _and give you visions of what you need._

The man. He was nothing but a vision, something conjured by the spirit of the swamp. _Something I need?_ Tooru wondered. He’d never even seen the man before that day; he didn’t even know what the stranger’s face looked like, he’d only ever seen his back.

 _And what would I need his help with?_ The Avatar inquired silently to himself. It was then that Oikawa remembered the entire reason for even being in the swamp: to heal his spirit. A fuse lit in his head as he came to the conclusion that this stranger, whoever he was, wherever he was, was meant to help Oikawa heal the dark trouble in his soul.

And Tooru was going to find him.

__________________________________________________________________________

Twelve times. Twelve times in the past 6 days Tooru had seen visions of the man, only ever of his bare back and bounded arms. Each time, Oikawa would run to him and try to grab his shoulders, only to realize it was nothing but a branch or a particularly thick vine. He grew increasingly frustrated with the situation, since the darkness clinging to Raava had grown even more potent over the past days. 

Sometimes he would accidentally bump into a tree branch and black out, waking up to find blackened stumps and torn land. Those attacks were what scared him the most. The knowledge that he wasn’t hurting anyone calmed him, but he could feel the lifeforce of the swamp deplete every time he’d wake up from an attack. Furthermore, he didn’t have anyone to tell him what he looked like while possessed; it scared him that he lost control by himself with no one to help him. After an attack, Oikawa made sure to meditate, attempting to feel the swamp’s unified connection with itself, and tried to mimic it within his body. Unfortunately, the evil that resided within him blocked him from connecting with Raava or his past avatar lives, so his meditations always ended in him becoming frustrated and giving up in a huff.

On the seventh day of being in the swamp, Oikawa rose to take a shower. Much to his disdain, his formerly gorgeous chocolate locks looked more like a dirt brown mop that has grown out of his scalp. Despite this, Oikawa had actually gotten quite good at the whole process of taking a shower. He’d purify water with his bending and then firebend a bonfire over which he would heat the water in the metal pot he brought. 

He poured the warm water over his skin, loving how it warmed his muscles, which were stiff from sleeping on a bed of moss. He put on one of the two outfits he brought on his trip (so many options!) and went searching for breakfest. 

He exited his makeshift home and made a raft out of ice so he could waterbend himself down the river. He sped down the stream to the location where he usually found the berries he had been eating for the past few days. They were pretty decent, as far as swamp berries went. 

Finally reaching his destination, Oikawa hopped of his little boat and climbed up over the high roots to get to his usual berry spot. The only problem was when he saw the bush he normally preyed on, he found nothing but twigs and leaves, completely depleted of any berries. Oikawa cursed to himself; he didn’t want to eat fish for breakfast, that was a definite no. 

He turned in a circle, looking for another bush that might contain the food he was searching for. Instead he found himself looking at the back of a now familiar figure of the man he had never met.

 _Great,_ thought Oikawa, _another vision to fuck with my feelings. Thanks swamp._ Still though, he reluctantly made his way over the vision to see where it would lead him, or what object he was mistaking as a human.

He approached the form silently until he was right behind it, when he reached out and grabbed the shoulder just like normal.

It was warm.

It felt like skin.

Oikawa was so happy he almost cried. He didn’t even care when the man whipped around suddenly, pressing a knife to the Avatar’s throat.

“Oh my God you’re real! You’re an actual person! Praise the spirits!” Oikawa shouted, grabbing onto the man’s wrist and genuinely beaming at him, the first real smile in what felt like weeks. Tooru supposed he probably looked crazy, joyfully yelling while a knife was pressed firmly below his jaw. He glanced down at the knife and then looked up at the man in front him. He seemed to be closer to Oikawa’s age than the Avatar had expected. His young features were sharp and precise, cheekbones jutting out from under his skin, and intense hazel eyes focused on Oikawa’s. He didn’t have his leaf hat on, leaving his spiky hair tousled.

 _Shit,_ thought Oikawa, _vision swamp stranger is hot._

“Who are you? What are you doing here? And why do you look so happy?” interrogated the man, glancing down at the knife and then back up at Oikawa. He seemed just as surprised to see Oikawa as Oikawa was to see him.

“Well, Mr. Swamp Man, I am Oikawa Tooru. I-” Oikawa paused. Maybe he shouldn’t say that’d he’d been searching for this stranger for a week, hoping that he could help Oikawa in his journey to self-discovery. That would probably scare swampman off, and Oikawa couldn’t have that happening, not after pushing himself so hard to find the man.

“I’m a biologist. I’m um… studying plant life here. Since there’s so many plants. I just love plants!” Oikawa beamed, hoping the unconfidence in his voice wouldn’t be detected by the stranger. Swamp Man lowered his knife and sheathed it into a holder that was slung around his slim waist.

“A biologist, huh?” said the stranger, looking doubtful. “People don’t usually come here, and when they do, they usually don’t make it out alive. You must either be really gutsy, or really stupid.”

“Mr. Swamp Man, I can assure you that I’m not stupid. Just dedicating my life to my science,” Oikawa explained, still giving the stranger a bright grin, which was not returned. The stern expression on the young man’s face intimidated Oikawa for some reason, perhaps because it reminded him of when Ukai was disappointed.

“Stop calling me that, I have a name,” The young man said, crossing his arms over a broad chest. “And you never explained why you were yelling like you knew me.”

Oikawa froze for second before coming up with a lie, “Well I’ve been having visions here in the swamp, and I thought you were a vision but you were actually real. I guess I was excited.” He said, telling a partial truth. “What are you doing in the swamp?”

“Well I live here,” the stranger said, gesturing to his leafy garb, “The tribe elder sensed something dark happening in this section of the swamp. Something is destroying the trees in this area, and it’s upsetting the balance of the ecosystem, so I was sent to check it out. All I’ve found here is you. You wouldn’t happen to know what's hurting the swamp, would you?” Oikawa could feel the threatening intensity in the young man’s voice. He actually found it a little sweet that this gruff swamp dweller cared so much about the environment of his home, which made Oikawa feel even worse about his attacks that were clearly the cause of the swamp’s problems. 

“No! I’ve just been taking observations of the place. Nothing strange happening here!” Oikawa remarked, trying his hardest not to let swamp man see through his lie. If the young man found out that Oikawa was the reason for the swamp’s pain, then Oikawa knew he wouldn’t be receiving any help from him.

The stranger took a step closer to Oikawa, scanning his face for any trace of dishonesty. The space between them was so small that the avatar could feel the man’s hot breath span over his face, raising goosebumps on Oikawa’s arms. As quickly as it had happened, it ended.

“Okay. Then I’ll be going.” Said the stranger, his back to Oikawa as he walked away. 

_No!_ Tooru’s thoughts yelled as he ran up to catch the young man’s hand in his own.

“What do you want, biologist?” The swamp dweller asked, annoyance splayed over his expression.

“Um… I was wondering if we could meet again? You could really help me identify all these plants, it would be useful to science.” Oikawa rattled off, hand still clasping the other man’s. “And I don’t even know your name.”

“My tribe and I don’t interact with people from beyond the borders of our home. I’ll have to decline,” The man declared sternly, gently pulling his hand from Oikawa’s, once again turning to leave the Avatar. Tooru refused to let this opportunity slip though, not after suffering through so many attacks and visions alone. He reached out again, his hand gripping the stranger’s shoulder firmly.

“Please,” Oikawa murmured, his eyes pleading for the other man to reconsider his previous statement. Something in the stranger’s face softened, as if he somehow he knew that Oikawa didn’t just want someone to identify plants.

“Iwaizumi Hajime. That’s my name. Meet me here tomorrow at the same time,” he muttered, face a bit red from the intensity in Oikawa’s stare. Tooru’s face lit up at Iwaizumi’s concession, eyes practically sparkling with gratitude.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Hajime demanded, face still a bit pink.

“Iwa-chan! You’re blushing! How sweet, you aren’t a heartless swamp man after all,” Oikawa cooed, trying to contain his true excitement that Iwaizumi had agreed to meet with him again. He nearly lost it when he saw the expression of confusion and surprise on his new friend’s face when he heard the nickname Oikawa had just created.

“Don’t call me that! We-we literally just met!” Iwaizumi sputtered, face returned to the red it had been before. “I’m going now, I’ll meet with you tomorrow. Keep an eye out for anything that could be hurting the trees.” With that, Iwaizumi marched into the dense vines that surrounded the open area they were in and disappeared into the green.

For some unknown reason, Oikawa felt the need to watch him walk away, so he silently crept to the spot where Iwaizumi had exited their meeting space. He was baffled when he saw Iwaizumi’s shrinking form bending the vines out of the way, using fluid motions to create a path for himself through the thick greens. _A plant bender?_ Oikawa questioned. He knew there was no such thing as a plant bender, but he couldn’t explain how Iwaizumi had been able to manipulate the vines to his will.

 _Tomorrow,_ he thought, _I’ll ask him tomorrow._

With that, Oikawa turned back to the open area, groaning when he remembered that the berries he wanted had been taken.

“Fish it is then,” he said to himself, feeling more optimistic than he had in weeks.


End file.
